Morning Spin: Madigan's elected Chicago school board bill puts Cullerton in tough place

Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune

House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, behind him, talk to the news media after meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner on the last day of the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield on Tuesday, May 31, 2016.

House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, behind him, talk to the news media after meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner on the last day of the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield on Tuesday, May 31, 2016.

A bill that slipped under the radar during the spring session would create a 21-member elected Chicago school board to replace the smaller one appointed by the mayor. Under the bill, 20 members would be elected from separate districts while one member, the chairman, would be elected citywide. The measure overwhelmingly passed the Illinois House, which is led by Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan (who voted for the bill).

But as efforts are being made to ask voters to create a more independent way of drawing legislative district maps to take much of the politics out of the process, it’s interesting to note who would be charged with drawing Chicago school board election boundaries.

Under the measure, it would be the Illinois General Assembly. So 118 House members and 59 senators statewide would have a say in where individuals could run for spots on an elected Chicago school board.

And it looks like the map-making process would be in the form of a bill, which means it would be subject to a potential veto of Gov. Bruce Rauner if he didn’t like the way the lines were drawn.

The measure makes no mention of the school board districts having to comply with the Illinois Voting Rights Act, which affords legislative map-making protections to racial, ethnic and language-speaking groups to be able to try to elect their favored candidate.

Those would appear to be significant concerns given the various “good-government” groups that populate the Statehouse.

Senate President John Cullerton, an Emanuel ally, is no fan of the measure, but Senate hearings on the House-passed bill are slated to begin next month. (Rick Pearson)

*Garcia II? We couldn’t help but notice that Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia made an interesting wardrobe choice for the Pride Parade.

Garcia was decked out in a T-shirt with the Chuy logo that became recognizable across the city during his unsuccessful 2015 bid to unseat Mayor Emanuel. But in smaller print under the Chuy logo, it said “Garcia for mayor” and listed the address for his campaign website.

Which raises the question: Was Garcia getting an early leg up on the 2019 mayoral race as he worked the parade crowd Sunday?

“You have great eyesight. No, my wife just convinced me that no one would notice it was from 2015 because the type was so small,” Garcia said. “That did become a brand and, of course, everyone recognized me, but the T-shirt actually was brand new. I was just being pragmatic. My nephew actually made that shirt for me, it’s one of those running shirts and I knew I would be out moving around a lot for the parade. That’s all it was.

“We had a great time,” Garcia said of the parade, “and it was important to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community, especially this year since so many of the victims in Orlando were Latino.”

Pressed a bit more, Garcia said it’s too early to rule another run for mayor in or out.

“It’s been over a year. I’m going to enjoy the summer and just recharge and reflect on all the challenges we have with the violence and with our public schools. I didn’t think we’d be at this juncture, and of course, the problems with the state budget have been very discouraging,” Garcia said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm out there. People keep saying, ‘Next time! Next time!’ and they put their dukes up when they say it. It’s fun.” (Bill Ruthhart)

*Comrade Rauner: Gov. Rauner recently added a new word to his public repertoire — collectivist. The first utterance we can recall came last week when the Republican governor, who describes himself as a free-market conservative, said Illinois is being damaged by a "collectivist economy," employing a term generally used to suggest communist or socialist influence.

"We've become a collectivist economy in Illinois. It's crushing us. And no problem is going to get fixed unless we bring more economic freedom into the state. And I believe that very passionately," the governor said during an appearance before the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board.

"That's going to kill us in the long run. I've got to change that. And the other issues, we can debate, but that one I have to stay very strong on," he said.

On Monday, Rauner busted out the term again. He was asked about Crain's Chicago Business' new editorial suggesting that whatever the governor is doing to shake up Springfield, it's not working. Rauner dismissed the piece, saying Crain's is “a little more collectivist than your usual business publication."

*AFSCME preps the troops: While a state labor board weighs whether to grant Gov. Rauner the go-ahead to try to impose new contract terms on Illinois’ largest state worker union, the union’s local chapters are starting to prep members for the possibility of a strike.

The meetings are being billed as informational question-and-answer sessions ahead of a July 7 hearing on the deadlocked contract talks. The outcome of that hearing could set the stage for a collision between the governor and labor union. The meetings are a way for the union to sound the alarm about a strike while taking their members’ temperature on the issue.

Earlier this year, Rauner asked the Illinois Labor Relations Board to decide whether his administration and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had hit “impasse,” a technical stage in negotiations that would allow the governor to move forward with imposing his contract terms.

After an administrative law judge at the labor panel spent the month of May hearing arguments from both sides, Rauner asked the labor board, which is stacked with members appointed by the governor, to bypass that review process and let the appointees make a decision. Rauner argues that the longer the contract issue goes unresolved, the more it’s costing the state money in savings that could be reaped by changing worker health benefits under a new contract.

AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said in a statement that union members “don’t want a strike and continue doing everything in our power to avoid one,” but that members “have to be prepared” for a confrontation with the governor.

“That’s why AFSCME local unions throughout Illinois are meeting to share information and answer questions, and continuing to organize and build community support,” Lindall said.

Rauner’s team called it “irresponsible” to talk of striking while the labor board has yet to rule, but also said in a statement that the administration’s “contingency planning team is ready” for the possibility. (Kim Geiger)

*Budget impasse vigil: Social service providers who care for the state's vulnerable will hold a vigil outside the James R. Thompson Center on Tuesday evening to draw attention to those affected by the historic state budget impasse.

The campaign, dubbed "Get it Done IL," is designed to keep pressure on Rauner and Democrats who control the legislature as lawmakers prepare to head back to Springfield on Wednesday for possible action on a temporary spending plan.

Organizers plan to read a list of all services that have been cut because of a lack of full state budget, and families that have been affected will place flowers in a vase. Candles also will be lit.

"This campaign is not about choosing sides in the seemingly never-ending debate in Springfield; #GetItDoneIL is about coming together and unifying as citizens of this state, to demand that our elected officials do the same by passing and enacting a state budget. The consequences of inaction — ours and theirs — are simply too great to ignore," organizers including Illinois Action for Children said in a release. (Monique Garcia)

*Standing up after U.S. House sit-down: Four Democratic U.S. representatives plan to appear at a 9 a.m. Wednesday rally in Federal Plaza as part of a national day of action on gun violence prevention.

Reps. Robin Kelly, of Matteson; Jan Schakowsky, of Evanston; Mike Quigley, of Chicago; and Bill Foster, of Naperville, will be joined by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, Kelly said. House Democrats nationwide are being encouraged to host similar events all week.

In addition, Democratic ex-Rep. Brad Schneider, of Deerfield, said he’ll attend Wednesday’s event, staged after last week’s House sit-down to protest GOP inaction on gun control after the Orlando, Fla., nightclub massacre. He’s challenging Republican Rep. Bob Dold, of Kenilworth, who last week called for approval of a gun-control measure. (Katherine Skiba)

*Greens, Libertarians and Socialists: Monday marked the filing deadline for independent and third-party candidates for the Nov. 8 general election and, pending any potential challenges, the ballot has grown.

The Green Party filed candidacy petitions for its presidential candidate, Jill Stein of Massachusetts, along with running mate William Kreml of South Carolina. Locally, Scott Summers, of Harvard, filed as the Green candidate for U.S. Senate and Tim Curtin, of Hillside, filed as the party’s comptroller candidate.

The Libertarian Party filed petitions for presidential and vice presidential candidates, using the party’s state chairman, Lex Green, of Bloomington, and another person as placeholders. They’ll be subbed out for the party’s presidential candidate, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld. Libertarians also filed Claire Ball, of Addison, for comptroller and Kenton McMillen, of Melrose Park, for U.S. Senate.